"Rapid" innovation and integration of components: Comparison of user and manufacturer innovations through a study of residential construction

According to conventional wisdom, builders of residential housing almost never innovate. In a detailed field-based study of the residential construction industry, I document quite a different picture: builders, rather than the manufacturers of products and materials, are the developers of almost all of the innovations in a sample (n = 34) researched in depth.

Through structured interviews with over 50 individuals in the industry, I collected specific data on a sample of 34 innovations relating to a single technology in residential construction, the stressed-skin panel. As background for this detailed analysis, I also collected a sample of 117 innovations that are permanently installed in a residential building.

Measurement and comparison of economic incentives operating on builders and manufacturers in this industry show how a pattern of builder innovation can make economic sense. Builders develop needs for innovations in the middle of construction work, and at that time the cost of delay is very high. They must also integrate varied components into a whole operational residential structure. Under these conditions builders find innovation to be cost-effective; as a result, they rapidly innovate. The prevalence of these innovations indicates a de factor design partnership between these builder-users and manufactures. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)